Simon Cortes, owner of La Palapa Grill & Cantina, said Monday it's 'a horrible time,' and his business had about 1 foot of water inside.

But he says the town has been through it before.

He says he has a lot of friends there, and he feels 'like it's our duty to make sure that we rebuild and open back up.'

Randy Marriner, who owns the Manor Hill Tavern, says he hopes to be one of the first businesses to reopen and 'be a bright light to our brothers and sisters in Ellicott City.'

However, the man still missing from the flood is a former employee of his.

Marriner says he's heartsick that Eddison Hermond is missing.

Hermond, 39, helped a woman who was searching for her cat during the flooding when he was swept away by the waters around 5.20pm on Sunday.

Hermond was reportedly in a restaurant and holding a door to keep the floodwaters out when he went back outside to help the woman. He was last seen going under the water.

Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman says a man was reported missing to police about 12.30am on Monday. He is not a resident of the historic district.

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National Guardsman Eddison Hermond was last seen trying to help others during the Ellicott City, Maryland flooding when he was swept away by the waters

Friends frantically shared the Air Force veteran's image on Facebook and said witnesses saw him being swept toward Patapsco River.

Friends frantically shared the Air Force veteran's image on Facebook, who said witnesses saw him being swept toward Patapsco River

'Local news is saying no one is missing, but we don't know where our brother is,' Bonnie Hoppa wrote on Facebook.

'Please, please, please, if you know where Eddison is, we are extremely worried.'

Howard County officials have since confirmed that one person is missing and swift water rescue, trucks, and ATVs have been deployed in search efforts. As of Monday morning Hermond was still missing.

Kittleman said emergency workers are 'making every effort to locate that individual'.

Hoppa described Hermond as 6ft tall with an 'athletic build'. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts.

Lt Col Charles Kohler, a spokesman for the guard, said Hermond is a sergeant assigned to the training department at the Camp Frettard Military Reservation in Reisterstown.

He says Hermond was not on duty Sunday evening and had not had guard training during the weekend.

Hermond spent more than 10 years on active duty in the Air Force, starting in 1996. After a break in military service, he joined the Maryland National Guard in 2009, according to Kohler.

Violent floodwaters surged through Ellicott City on Sunday, sweeping away dozens of cars and toppling buildings as more than 8 inches of rain dumped down in five hours.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has since declared a state of emergency for all of Maryland.

Residents gather by a bridge to look at cars left crumpled in one of the tributaries of the Patapsco River on Monday

A car that was swept into the riverbank rests just off Main Street in flood-ravaged Ellicott City on Monday morning

'Less than two years ago, the citizens of Howard County and Ellicott City went through a horrific ordeal, and sadly, they are facing a similar emergency today,' Hogan said.

Footage taken by one witness showed the town's historic stone cottage being completely swept away and destroyed by the turbulent currents.

A man was captured in one video desperately trying to reach safety as half a dozen cars floated near him. The woman who shot the video, Natalie Walterhoefer, said the man was rescued moments later and was safe.

Other videos showed waves of water rushing through the city's Main Street as it surged as high as 6ft at the height of the flash flooding.

Violent floodwaters surged through Ellicott City on Sunday, sweeping away dozens of cars and toppling buildings as more than 8 inches of rain dumped down in five hours

Dramatic photos and video emerged showing fast-moving torrents of brown water rushing down Main Street in Ellicott City, just outside Baltimore

Dramatic footage emerged of a man desperately trying to escape flash flooding in Maryland on Sunday as torrents of brown water swept away a building and multiple cars around him. A woman said he was rescued moments later

By nightfall first responders and rescue officials were still going through the muddied, damaged downtown, conducting safety checks and ensuring people evacuated.

Main Street remained blocked off, even to residents and business owners, on Monday morning and 600 Howard County residents were still without power.

Heavy flood waters also destroyed a bridge near the Howard/Baltimore County line at the Patapsco River about 1.4 miles away from Ellicott City, according to Fox Baltimore.

Portions of the bridge were washed away, making the road impassable.

Flood warnings remained for the Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, and Howard counties on Monday, but the threat of more heavy rain and flash flooding has passed, according to NBC Washington.

But left in its wake is a town that must rebuild after only just recently recovering from similar destruction.

The community set along the west bank of Maryland's Patapsco River was stricken by deadly flash flooding two years ago.

After the floodwaters receded, emergency officials had no immediate reports of fatalities or injuries

Authorities urged residents on Sunday to seek higher ground immediately and people were being warned to avoid downtown Ellicott City

Water rushes through Main Street in Ellicott City on Sunday as it swept away multiple vehicles

Main Street, where the devastation occurred in Ellicott City on Sunday, is the same area struck by flash flooding in July 2016. In that flood, Ellicott City received 6.6 inches of rain over a two to three hour period.

Some residents of Ellicott City told The Baltimore Sun the flooding appeared to be worse than a storm two years ago that took lives and destroyed local businesses.

Officials said 96 percent of the businesses hit by the flooding were open again before Sunday's catastrophe hit, and more than 20 new businesses had opened on Main Street.

Now may are being forced to decide once again if they will rebuild.

The city had just this month received $1million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund projects that would help reduce Main Street's flood risk.

'It took two years to get the money and it's ironic that we just got it this month,' Gov Hogan said.

'Nobody expected another storm of this magnitude to come two years later because, as I said, they're only supposed to happen every 1,000 years.'

Authorities started to carry out water rescues in the streets with one fire department receiving dozens of calls on Sunday

Authorities said they had no immediate reports of any fatalities but rescue crews were still checking flooded buildings and streets

Main Street, where the devastation occurred in Ellicott City on Sunday (pictured above), is the same area struck by flash flooding in July 2016